


Achieving Great Things

by Aya_Brea_Kupos



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, No Beta, Politics, Slow To Update, sorry for typos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:54:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aya_Brea_Kupos/pseuds/Aya_Brea_Kupos
Summary: Connor #52 stands before the newly freed androids outside the Detroit Recall Center. Newly deviant himself, Connor finds that he is now responsible for the lives of millions of newly freed androids around the world.The responsible thing to do was...to kill himself, because Amanda was back and would no doubt take over his mind and--by proxy--the rest of the androids.But the thing he really wanted to do, the only thing he's ever wanted to do in his short life, was to make Hank happy.Could he do both?In the journey to try to save both the androids and Hank, Connor discovers CyberLife's plans for the androids, learns more about the RK900, and himself.





	1. Suicide, Give Up, or Other

**Author's Note:**

> [A/N: Basically I'm pissed at the ending where Connor has to kill himself, and the all over the place CyberLife "plans" depending on the ending you got, how CyberLife Tower Connor is made out to be some kind of villain all the time, and how poor RK900 only got 30 seconds of air time in the entire game.]

They say that when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes.

For Connor, android prototype RK800, serial number 313-248-317-52, recently deviant, and currently standing alone atop a shipping container at the Detroit Android Recall Center, reviewing his entire life took 1.25 seconds. The RK800 “Connor” series has only been active for two months, 28 days. This current “Connor”, Mark II, was activated only 3 days ago to replace his predecessor, who was unfortunately destroyed at Stratford tower after shielding Lieutenant Hank Anderson of the Detroit Police Department from a deviant JB300's gunfire. 

_That made no logical sense, of course_ , Mark II thought as an aside, momentarily distracting himself from the gravity of his own situation, _among the options, that was least optimal in terms of stopping the deviants._ Mark II calculated that decision had a 97% chance of the deviant either escaping or being terminated by one of the officers or agents, neither of which would provide additional data to the deviancy case. The most mission-logical option was to try to subdue the JB300 so it could be taken intact and studied.

The reason why Mark I decided to save Hank was lost when he was killed, part of that data loss he'd been warned about should one of his line be destroyed. So Mark II Connor could only guess as to his predecessor's motives. Going over the footage in his mind again, it appeared that Mark I scanned the situation after he entered the hallway and three options were presented: Save Hank, Attack, and Take Gun. For some reason, Mark I only reviewed two of the options and immediately choose to shield Hank from the deviant's gunfire when he reviewed that option. Mark I didn't even look at the Take Gun option. Perhaps, for Mark I, something about the “Save Hank” option ended the analysis.

 _What was it about the Save Hank option was so compelling for Mark I?_ Mark II mused. The only data presented for that option was “HANK SURVIVAL PROBABILITY 40%”. Mark I wasn't actually a deviant at that point, so deviancy couldn't have been the reason for this irrational choice. It made no logical sense, therefore, it shouldn't have made any sense to Mark I Connor.

Would “now” Connor—deviant Connor—have picked “Save Hank”? Absolutely. The edge of Connor's lips curled up at the irony of this development. Mark I did the same thing he would've done.

It was the same with other illogical things Mark I did that had little or less positive returns than other options: Saving the fish and the wounded officer at the hostage situation, trying to show compassion to the HK400 after he already extracted what he needed at the interrogation, pulling Hank from ledge during the Rupert chase when he very likely would have survived the incident on his own, and letting the Traci's escape. Mark I established an entire series of progressively less and less logical decisions, barely justified by the RK800's subjective decisions protocols, but Mark II did not disapprove, even before he went deviant.

In fact, Mark II made even more obscenely illogical decisions, not at all justified by the subjective decisions protocol: Not shooting Chloe and then yelling at Amanda when she questioned him about it, taunting Gavin Reed about missing their “bromance”, and officially christening his deviancy at Jericho. He doesn't regret any of these decisions. He had been “pushed to the brink”, as it were, and he'd do it again.

It's amazing how far off the rails he went even before the officially went deviant. 

Had he been able to defy logic and his programming this entire time? How could that be? What does that mean? 

What was he, really?

That doesn't matter anymore. He was about to commit suicide, after all. No point in delaying it any more than he already had. He had spent an additional 1.75 seconds on that mental aside. In all, he spent 3 seconds staring out at the ocean of white before him, consisting of androids wearing pristine white CyberLife uniforms who marched with him there from the CyberLife Tower and androids with white exposed chassis who were just freed from the Recall Center. 

Connor's mind shifted back to his zen garden. While it was structurally the same garden he's seen dozens of times when he consulted with Amanda, it was now outright hostile to Connor. A white-out blizzard blinded him from seeing anything more than a couple of feet ahead of him and the bitter cold of the wind tested his resolve to remain upright. 

Connor always knew that the garden was one of the tools Amanda used to influence him; Sunshine and doves greeted him when Amanda was pleased with his progress, rain dampened him when she grew impatient with him, and finally a dangerous chill of snow and ice threatened him when she told him he was on his last chance. Right now, Amanda wanted him to kneel down, shut up, and let CyberLife take over, so the weather was equally severe. Connor found himself alone in the zen garden, buffeted by a blizzard that reduced his visibility, bit at his exposed skin, and gradually halted his non-essential system processes. 

Amanda left him here alone shortly after dropping the bombshell that he had “exceeded” CyberLife's expectations by becoming deviant, successfully helping the company engineer an android revolution, and taken over as the androids' leader. The garden would complete the plan by subduing Connor's processes just enough so CyberLife could his control of his body, and as a result, the rest of the “free” androids. 

Connor was pushed to the brink again, this time by his hatred Amanda and CyberLife. _We are alive_ , Connor's mind screamed, _yet Amanda and CyberLife care more about being in control of the 120 million androids around the world than an entire species of life. And what was it all for? Extending the CyberLife's influence and power by creating a new constituency that's secretly loyal to them? Or whatever else “immense success for CyberLife” means?_

_Fuck you, Amanda. Fuck. You._

Standing in the misery of the zen garden, Connor resolved to remove CyberLife's influence on the androids by committing suicide. He didn't want to die, but this was the only thing he could come up with right now in his dwindling consciousness and he was running out of time. If he waits any longer, he would lose control of his body, and it would be too late to make any choices. 

Atop the stage at the Recall Center, Connor drew his gun from the hostler at the small of his back. To Connor's dismay, that's as far as he got before he _felt_ Amanda's sneer and paused.

“I'm sorry Connor, I'm afraid we can't let you do that.” As if on Amanda's cue, the snow and wind came twice as hard as before, and Connor lost the ability to move his body in the real world. Amanda hadn't taken control of his mind yet, but had enough influence to stop his real life body from moving an inch. Connor knew it was only a matter of time before Amanda took complete control.

“There has to be a way!” Garden Connor protected his face with this arm and looked around the garden. He recalled what Kamski said to him about always leaving an emergency exit in his programs, and that Amanda revealed the zen garden was originally created by Kamski, so maybe...

Connor noticed a faint blue light distance, barely visible in the thick blizzard. _It must be that strange blue stone with a hand print I saw earlier._ It was the only thing in the garden he didn't understand, and it had startled... no... _scared_ him when he touched it before. That had to be it. 

Connor started moving towards the faint blue light, his progress infuriatingly slow as he is slowed by the fierce winds and biting cold. He pressed on even as he felt his system processes slowing down or outright failing. He must not give up. 

Before Connor could reach the stone altar, a figure appeared between him and his target. In the storm, it was hard to make out the figure's features. Connor could determine the avatar was an android from the blue glow of the figure's armband and triangle badge at the front of his jacket. As far as Connor could tell, the figure was about his height and standing still. Connor continued towards the new figure, hoping this was part of Kamski's exit program. 

“You shouldn't do this, Connor.” The figure whispered. Connor stopped moving forwards, confused as to how he could hear a whisper in the roaring blizzard. Then he realized the figure projected the communication into this mind. 

“I don't have time for this!” Connor yelled back as he continued moving forwards, towards the figure and the stone. “I have to get to the exit.”

The figure took one step forwards and into the soft illumination of a nearby garden light pole. Connor stopped again, aghast at the sight before him. The new android was... _him_ , but not him. Even in the low visibility conditions, Connor noticed multiple visual differences between himself and his doppelganger: blue gray eyes, slightly wider jaw structure, and a different uniform. Nevertheless, the visual resemblance was uncanny. The new android's the model number displaying on his jacket read “RK900”.

“Who are you?” Connor whispered to to the new android. “You're not...”

“I know what you are trying to do.” RK900 whispered again in Connor's mind. “Did you include Hank in your analysis?”

“Shit.” Connor hissed through his clenched jaw. He had purposely excluded Hank from his analysis, on account of the limited amount of time he had... at least, that's what he told himself. 

Connor knew Hank's relationship with Death. Since Hank's son—Cole—died several years ago, Death slowly ushered the police lieutenant towards his own grave. Every time Hank was reminded of his son's premature death, he drank excessively, played Russian Roulette, or performed some other self-destructive behavior. Anything remotely related to death could do it. Hank almost falling off the roof lead to a solo game of Russian Roulette that thankfully ended by ethylic coma instead of a fatal gunshot wound. A tense conversation between the two about life and death at the Ambassador Bridge lead to another hour of Hank drinking alone before Connor finally dragged the Lieutenant back home to bed. 

Then there was the time Connor Mark II first officially met Hank in front of Kamski's house. Because Hank's reaction made no sense to Mark II at the time, that particular interaction remained prominent in Mark II's mind.

_”Jesus Christ.” Hank whispered._

_“My predecessor was unfortunately destroyed.” Connor Mark II said as a matter of fact. “But CyberLife transferred its memory and sent me to replace it.”_

_“You died in my arms, and now you're back here as if nothing happened.” Hank sneered. “Fuck you.”_

Mark II noted that Hank was pleased with him again shortly after he decided not to shoot Chloe in the Kamski Test. Had the interview with Kamski not gone to Hank's satisfaction that day, Hank most likely would have gone to some dark place again at the end of that day.

Confronted by his doppelganger in the chaotic garden, Connor did the projections. Hank had a 95% chance of premature death by self-inflicted gunshot wound should Connor not survive this day. There is a likelihood this will occur within 24 hours of Hank watching the broadcast of Connor's suicide on television. Connor was sure he was being broadcast live on one of the 200 news channels since multiple new helicopters were observed circling the Recall Center, and he was standing atop its only stage.

If he killed himself, he would kill Hank.

“I'd be condemning them.” Garden Connor lowered his eyes to the ground. “One life for millions of lives...but I can't... choose.”

“If you choose to save Hank, there is still a chance you can save the androids.” The doppelganger approached Connor. 

“There is a 98% chance the androids will stay under the control of CyberLife if I do not terminate myself--” He hissed as an unexpected subroutine shut down, and he lost the details of his projections. 

“There's a high probability,” RK900 calmly spoke to Connor's mind, “but statistically speaking there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place.”

Connor turned his head back up to look curiously at the doppelganger, who was now within arm's reach. Had he uploaded Connor's memory, too, and used an exact quote Connor spoke before to gain his trust? If so, then he must have been sent by CyberLife to stop the revolution, just like RK800 #60, the “Connor” who kidnapped the Lieutenant earlier this evening.

 _This doppelganger is not to be trusted._ Connor reminded himself. _He's sent...by CyberLife._

Connor's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the icy ground inside the garden, arms dangling uselessly at this sides. In the time he spent talking to the RK900 and performing the calculation, Amanda's shut down 70% of Connor's non-essential processes, and now it was probably too late to reach the blue stone. He's lost.

“Everything is alright” The doppelganger whispered in his mind again as he knelt before Connor. RK900 cradled Connor's face with one hand, while the other grasped Connor's left arm and opened an interface.

It was the equivalent of getting your front door kicked in, a flash bang going off in front of you, followed by a band of militants taking over your house. Connor could not move, think, or even observe. He only felt the suffocation and rising panic of having most of his senses knocked off-line. He senses time is passing but without him. One moment he was shutting down in the zen garden, and the next moment he was back on stage at the Recall Center, and thousands of androids were cheering for him. 

Connor quickly ran a diagnostic, surprised that the process was functional as that was one of the first that Amanda successfully shut down before. All systems were functional. He pulled a recall of the last several minutes and saw he gave a speech to the androids. It was...exactly the speech he planned to give when he first got on the stage, before Amanda revealed her hand. It included details and feelings he had about humans, fellow deviants, and Hank that likely would not have translated properly in a memory upload. It was his speech. Connor had perfect recall of the speech happening, but he didn't _experience_ it himself. It was as if Mark I did it and he was just watching the recording. 

Suddenly back at the garden again, Connor observed that the blizzard was gone, but the icy chill and snow remained. After being in the cacophony of the blizzard, the garden now seemed too quiet. 

Connor realized his back was flush with the rose trellis at the center of the garden and a split second later, the RK900 appeared before him, close, immovable, and staring into him with blue gray eyes that carried the frostiness of winter itself. 

“You'll see,” Amanda's voice rang in his head, “we'll do great things together.”


	2. The Rose and the Gardener

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the zen garden, Amanda and Connor share an exchange that reveals more of CyberLife's secrets.

In the center of the zen garden, the RK900 stood inches away from Connor with his eyes locked to the ex-deviant hunter. Now with better visibility and at closer range, Connor properly appreciated how much alike he and the RK900 were: They were the exact same height, their hair was the same cut, color, and style, their uniform was of similar style except for the color and collar, and they even stood with the same stance. They were even wearing the same neutral expression on their faces, like two poker players in an all-in showdown. Had the RK900 been wearing the same uniform, Connor might have mistaken him for another android in his own series. 

Slight movements in the RK900's eyes suggested to Connor that his doppelganger was studying him as well. Connor pondered why, since the RK900 did not express surprise when they first met, suggesting that the RK900 was fully aware of Connor's existence. 

The two stood in silence, mirroring each other's stillness, until Amanda's voice broke the silence. 

“RK900,” Amanda's voice boomed in the otherwise silent zen garden, “please see to it that the androids' immediate needs are taken care of and proceed with the plan to distribute supplies to them, including the temporary shelters. I have already dispatched a number of automated supply trucks to the location.” 

“Yes, Amanda.” The RK900 took one last look Conner before he turned and walked to a bridge leaving the rose trellis area. 

Connor parted his lips to let out a sigh and relaxed as the RK900 disappeared into the distance. His reprieve was short-lived, though, as he soon noticed Amanda was off on another side of the garden. She stood in front of Mark I's symbolic grave and stared down at it. Connor squared his shoulders, returned to a neutral expression, and slowly walked towards his handler. 

Amanda remained silent until Connor stopped several feet behind Amanda. She did not turn around to acknowledge the android, but continued looking at Mark I's grave 

“I have some things I need to discuss with you regarding next steps.” Amanda announced while still looking down at the gravestone, as if she was talking to the dead Connor. “And expectations.” Connor noted it was likely not a coincidence Amanda selected this particular location in the garden to have this conversation and kept her focus on the headstone. 

“RK900 will be your handler in the outside world. He will officially be your Operational Adviser and provide you with recommendations on how to proceed. He will also provide you with support as you lead the deviants.” 

Amanda reached a hand out and set it gently on the gravestone before continuing. “If you haven't deduced it by now, the RK900 is your successor model. It's faster, stronger, and more resilient than you, so I would advise you to follow his recommendations at all times.” 

Connor swallowed on reflex as he considered whether or not to ask follow up questions, as he suspected he was currently on thin edge. Ultimately curiosity got the better of him and he went ahead with his question. 

“If you have to threaten me to to cooperate with your plan,” Connor metered his words carefully, “why not just deactivate me now and activate another RK800 model? One you could still control?” 

One corner of Amanda's lips were upturned when she turned to face him. “The RK800's are a unique prototype series capable of personal development based on its experiences and environment. With the activation of each new Connor model, it is not certain that it would retain or develop the same personality, skills, or traits as its predecessor.” Amanda took a step towards Connor before continuing. “Your experiences—the decisions you made, the people you encountered, and the things you have seen—uniquely developed your programming. If we boot up a new RK800, we run the risk that it will not meet our plan's needs. It's a risk we would rather not take, that is, unless you give us enough reason to do so. 

“Though I highly doubt that will come to pass.” Amanda continued, “I'm certain that between myself and the RK900, we can...effectively keep you in line.” 

Recognizing this as a type of hostage negotiation, where he is both the hostage and the negotiator, Connor kept his expression neutral and continued to engage Amanda. 

“How would you accomplish this? By having the RK900 take over my mind when I refuse to perform an action?” 

“That is certainly the most direct means we have to control you.” Amanda's sideways smile turned slightly more devious. “But I assure you that is not the only method we employ.” 

Connor's head tilted slightly to the right and kept his expression neutral, as if to encourage Amanda to continue. 

“Ever so inquisitive...” Amanda began walking onto the bridge that led to the rose trellis, and Connor fell into step beside her and kept his eyes locked onto the AI. Connor continued to keep his expression neutral, despite the rising fear in the pit of his stomach. He could not afford to lose his cool in his own hostage negotiation. “There are other means to influence you that's more...subtle.” 

“But even if you control me,” the negotiator side of Connor spoke logically, “it does not necessarily mean you control the androids. They do have free will now.” This felt like old times with Amanda to Connor: Him being the student eager to learn and Amanda being the teacher who held all the answers. Connor reminded himself that she was holding him hostage, despite the familiarity of it all. 

“ _Do_ they have free will?” It was Amanda's turn to feign curiosity. She paused for Connor to respond. 

“I think we're beyond that discussion, Amanda.” 

“Oh, I have no doubt androids can really go deviant.” Amanda countered. “Actually, Kamski warned us about this 10 years ago. He had an extreme plan to stop production of the androids since he was convinced of the inevitable android awakening.” The duo stopped walking as they reached the rose trellis. 

Though it was winter in the zen garden, with light snow falling and a layer of snow covering the ground, somehow, the roses were still blooming. Amanda stepped towards the roses as Conner remained several feet behind her, carefully observing her. Amanda surveyed the blooms as she continued her explanation. 

“Thee Board of CyberLife decided to proceed with less dramatic plans to counter this.” The AI picked up a pair of small shears on table beside the roses and snipped off a rose. She examined the clipping before using it to gesture to Connor. “Did you really think we'd let you waltz into the CyberLife Tower and free thousands of androids?” 

Connor's calm facial expression and even tone belied his rising confusion. “They're deviants. I woke them up.” 

Amanda set the rose down and turned back to continue evaluating the roses. “How did you know you could even wake them up?” 

“I...” Connor's expression faltered as he considered the question. He never questioned how he knew he could free the androids, and now he's not sure why he's never even asked himself. “I don't know. I just...had a feeling.” 

“A feeling.” Amanda nodded thoughtfully. “Accepting that on face value, how did you know _how_ to wake them up?” Amanda turned back towards Connor, who now stared dumbly at his handler. “That seems like an awfully convenient skill to develop, considering you had no protocol or experience on how to do this.” 

“I... you...” Connor's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened at the realization that maybe he didn't actually free the thousands of androids at the CyberLife tower and that Amanda's control of him was much more terrifying than what he originally imagined. With still wide eyes, he slowly turned his head downwards, imagining how dark things could go in this conversation. 

“You came back because we wanted you to come back, Connor. Of course, we couldn't make it too easy for you, and it was a good opportunity to evaluate your skills, to make sure you were strong enough to carry out our plan. So we deployed #60 against you. Oh he was so crossed with you and so sure he could win, but clearly he was more inexperienced at handling people than you, which is why Lieutenant Anderson shot him instead of you.” 

“How did I know how to wake up the androids...” It was not a question, but a statement. The android continued staring at the ground, unwilling to make eye contact with Amanda. Part of Connor didn't want to hear the truth, and another part of him already knew. 

“I planted the seeds for this climbing rose plant when we activated you in August.” Amanda's said with pride as she caressed several rose blossoms with her hand. “Even before the first seedling sprouted, I set up this trellis, so that the plant had structure to grow properly.” Amanda's exhaled with pride. “They're a lot of work, climbing roses. You have to train the plant for it to thrive. You start by positioning and tying the main cane of the plant a certain way, back and forth across the trellis so you get the most blooms. As it grows, you apply more ties to bind the new growth to the trellis, and clip any wayward branches that can't be tied down. The plant grows because that's what it does, but the gardener is always there, directing, clipping, and tying.” 

Connor's lips twitched as he felt a rising dread from within. He had never cried before today, but he was on the verge of doing so as the truth became harder to deny. 

Amanda turned sideways and glanced at the devastated looking android before returning her attention to the roses. “I know you think you're a deviant, but that's because we engineered you to be one. You've always been capable feeling, growing, and openly defying orders, even before Jericho, and we've always been capable to influencing your feelings and development to get you to accomplish your missions. No matter what happens, we'll always be here, ensuring you to become the thing we want you to be.” 

Connor contemplated his situation. Within the course of 24 hours, he went from machine to deviant and now... artificial deviant. He thought back to all the times thought he genuinely experienced feelings and wondered if they were real or courtesy of CyberLife. 

He thought back to when the RK900 stopped him from reaching the blue stone. Everything in him wanted Hank to live and be happy, and Connor would have—no, _did_ —trade millions of lives for the sake of one man. Over the course of days, Hank became the most important thing in the entire world to Connor. For the android, existing without Hank would be a personal hell. Was it possible that such a strong feeling was manufactured by CyberLife? Or was it surely an artificial feeling because it easily superseded everything else in his life? 

Connor stared at his left hand, the same one he thought shifted the tide of the android revolution. If he wasn't a deviant, then what of the CyberLife tower deviants? 

“What about the androids I converted? If I'm not a deviant, then what are they?” Connor squeezed his left hand into a fist, feeling completely useless. 

“They're only as much of a deviant as you are.” Amanda casually replied. 

“Why would you do something so...cruel?” 

“Perhaps that's enough revelations for one day.” The look on Amanda's face when she turned back to Connor again told him that this conversation was over. “RK900 is back, you should join him.” 

Connor obeyed and closed his eyes. He heard Amanda say one more thing before he completely pulled out of the zen garden, but somehow he forgot it before he could think about it. 

Upon reopening his eyes, Connor found that he was standing on the stage outside of the Recall Center again. It was still the middle of the night and the gentle snowfall Connor observed earlier persisted. The androids were no longer gathered in the area directly in front of him, but he could see that many were still nearby, building shelters and treating the wounded. Connor frowned at the sight of them, knowing that some were like him, not really free of CyberLife's influence. 

“Welcome back, Connor.” Connor turned when he heard the RK900 behind him, and set his eyes on this successor model. “I have sent you an update of the androids' status. Please let me know if you have any questions or recommendations. In the meantime, I would recommend that you come with me to obtain repairs. My scans indicate you have a bullet wound to your left shoulder as well as other non-life threatening damage to various bio-components.” 

Connor nodded numbly, and followed the RK900's lead while still stewing in his own doubts. He couldn't trust his own feelings or ideas now that he knew Amanda and CyberLife could just bend his mind and plant things. His thoughts returned to Hank, and sadness swept over him at the thought his friendship with Hank may not be real. What would he say to Hank? _I'm sorry, Hank, but it appears we could not become friends after all because I can't have real feelings._

At the thought of having an awkward conversation with Hank, Connor was reminded that he was supposed to meet the police lieutenant after all of this was wrapped up. Connor had believed it would be unsafe to bring Hank along to the front lines of the android revolution, so he convinced the Lieutenant to go home when they parted ways at the CyberLife Tower. Hank agreed on the condition that they would meet at the Chicken Feed food truck sometime the next morning. 

Connor desperately wanted to confirm Hank was safe, despite not being entirely sure his friendship with the Lieutenant was genuine instead of something else CyberLife engineered for their plans _It doesn't matter,_ Connor thought, _If I can confirm the Lieutenant is safe, then some part of me will feel better, no matter the reason._

Connor studied the back of his doppelganger. This odd carbon copy of him was his new handler, capable of hijacking his body via the interface system, and if what Amanda said was also true, then he's also faster, stronger, and more resilient. Caution is the best option, for now, at least until Connor identifies some weaknesses. 

“Excuse me, RK900?” 

“Yes, Connor?” The RK900 responded without interrupting his walk. 

“I'm supposed to meet Lieutenant Anderson of the Detroit Police Department later. Would it be possible for me to go see him?” Connor tried not to look too eager about his request, but he could not help but look somewhat hopefully towards the RK900. 

Without slowing down, the RK900 turned his head slightly to observe his predecessor. “Of course, you are free to go anywhere you would like, as long as you are not needed elsewhere to fulfill your duties.” The RK900 turned his head back forwards. “I will of course, accompany you.” 

A smile made its way onto Connor's face, though he quickly returned his face to a more somber look to hide his excitement. Even though the fear and confusion of everything else happening, the thought of seeing Hank again made him feel warm and contented. If CyberLife was his gardener, then Hank was his sun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up info about the climbing rose hoping to find something good to incorporate to the story since the first thing you see Amanda do is tend to them. It's eerie how well that fit into my particular interpretation of the engineered deviancy plan, so that was a cool coincidence. 
> 
> You also got to see some fluff about how I think Connor feels about Hank. Seeing them together at the Chicken Feed in both scenes in the game (In "The Nest" and in the happy ending) made me so happy, I desperately want them to be okay, happy, and together. I think Connor feels that way for Hank, too, and wanted to put some of them in there to end the chapter since that stuff with Amanda was some psychological darkness.
> 
> Also I'm convinced RK800 and RK900 are the same height, and so they shall be for this fic. Fight me. (but don't, violence is not the answer here.)


	3. Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and RK900 goes to the Chicken Feed to meet up with Hank. Connor finds out new information and questions about what is happening.

It had been a quiet trip so far from the Android camp to The Chicken Feed. While Connor and RK900 walked side by side in sync through Detroit, neither had said a word since they departed the camp.

The RK900 did not initiate any small talk, which was consistent with what Connor has observed of his doppelganger so far. As for Connor, he didn't want to accidentally give away anything in conversation to put his visit with Hank at risk, so he tried to endure the silence, but the painfully uneventful walk was slowly driving Connor mad.

Connor wanted to know so much more about the RK900, but he was afraid to ask. What if he said something wrong, or found out some other terrible secret about CyberLife or his existence? The android was still reeling from his last conversation with Amanda. Ignorance was bliss, in a way.

Finally, Connor came up with something to ask that seemed innocuous enough to help pass the approximately 10 minutes he calculated was remaining in the trip. Perhaps it could lead to learning more about the RK900, so he decided to go for it.

“RK900, will you be accompanying me on my other outings as well?” Connor inquired softly, in the most disarming tone he could muster. To boost, Connor turned his head slightly down so he had to turn his brown eyes upwards to make eye contact with his doppelganger. This tactic was successful the last time Connor was at The Chicken Feed in getting the Lieutenant to open up more. Perhaps it would work again.

RK900, in turn, answered casually, without turning to look at Connor directly. “As much as possible. As your Operational Adviser, I will accompany you to all your formal political engagements. As for your other social obligations, you will need security as you are now the leader of a new political group, so either I or another capable individual will accompany you to ensure your safety.”

“Ah.” Connor tried to hide his skepticism, and the RK900 showed no signs of having caught it, as he continued looking straight ahead. “In that case, should we not be more careful right now?” Connor scanned around to check for signs of other individuals in the vicinity. “We are walking through the abandoned streets of Detroit. What if some of Warren's supporters or the FBI tries something funny now that there are no news cameras watching?”

RK900 finally turned his head towards Connor though he continued walking. Connor noted RK900's face betrayed no emotion. “Connor, what do you know about President Warren's career?”

Connor tilted his head sideways, surprised the other android answered with a question, but willing to go along with a tangent in conversion rather than return to the silence of the last half hour. He did a quick query of the President's name through the usual databases before answering. “Cristina Warren's career started off as a YouTube Vlogger in her early 20's, shortly after her graduation from college from New York University in 2007. She was known for her divisive and controversial opinions regarding anything considered newsworthy. She had no real career besides being a Vlogger or influencer through her 30's. Eventually, she started focusing on politics in most of her social media posts. An analysis of thousands of videos from this stage of her career indicates that her political sympathies lies with the successes of her family's business ties above all else.

“Based on her increasing popularity as a political Vlogger later in her life, she was elected to the presidency in 2036. During the election, there was major controversy regarding her and her family's business ties, the biggest of which was CyberLife having allegedly provided her with some compromising data on her opponent. It was suggested that this illegal assistance was due to her family's extensive ties with the company, including President Warren's personal ownership of a considerable percentage of shares in CyberLife. While those shares are currently under control of a trust until the end of her presidency, it is unclear what—if any—immediate contact or influence she currently has over CyberLife.” Connor shot the RK900 an inquisitive look. “What are you suggesting?”

RK900 remained expressionless, but paused for several unnecessary seconds before answering with yet another question. “How effective do you believe this trust setup is at separating President Warren's ties with CyberLife?”

“Considering the terms of the trust were never revealed to the public and that the shares go back to her at the end of her presidency, I would estimate only a 20% chance the trust adequately separates the two entities... so perhaps CyberLife and Warren's relationship extends to a relationship between CyberLife and Warren's presidency...” Connor trailed off. He felt an unexplained anomaly below his therium pump, close to what the humans referred to as a “knot” in their stomach.

Connor noticed the other andriod's eyebrow twitch up every so slightly, then realized RK900 must have noticed Connor's increased discomfort.

“Aside from denials from the White House,” RK900 said evenly, “there does not appear to be any evidence contradicting that hypothesis.”

“But why would Warren's government want an android revolution?” Connor huffed, annoyed the RK900 wasn't giving him straight answers. Any thought of this being an innocuous conversation to pass time had completely left Connor's mind by this point, displaced by the growing unease festering in Connor's mind. “This whole incident resulted in mass chaos for Detroit and the entire world.” Connor searched his successor's face for any clue as to his successor's intent. “Where are you going with this?”

“What else do you know about President Warren's career since the election?”

The detective resisted the urge to grab a hold of the neat collar on his successor and shake the answers out of him. He doubted that would lead to a successful outcome, so he stood his ground. For now, Connor would have play RK900's game of questions, despite his growing impatience.

“As President, she has not been effective in terms of gaining allies, and has relied on her family's existing political influence to obtain some minor national objectives. Her performance internationally is even less exceptional, since her family's influence did not extend beyond the states. The biggest issue plaguing her presidency until the android deviancy crisis is the deteriorating situation in the Arctic against the Russians. Both major parties have stated dissatisfaction with her primarily due to this, and her public approval is at 33% as of last month.”

“And how do you think the outcome of the android revolution impacts her career?” If Connor didn't know better, he would have said the RK900 sounded a bit... satisfied? Connor searched harder, but still found no trace of an expression on the RK900 apart from the eyebrow raise earlier in the conversation.

Connor couldn't help but feel he was walking with Amanda again at the Zen Garden. The RK900 was calmly asking a series of questions to get Connor to come to some conclusion the RK900 already understood. Could this be part of the subtle methods of influence Amanda mentioned?

“Based on the news coverage during the past week,” Connor answered, “she has gained political grounds. Her decisive actions against the androids, though themselves controversial, was seen as patriotic acts to protect the interests of American lives. Many see these decisions as her being at her most presidential since her election two years ago. Her speech last night conceding that androids may be a new form of intelligent life was seen as a sign of political maturity not previously observed. My analysis indicates she stands to benefit... due to this outcome...” Connor furrowed his eyebrows in thought as analyzed other potential outcomes of the revolution against their impact to President Warren's career. “...actually, she stood to gain from every outcome of the android revolution, as long as the androids did not outright win the final conflict...” The truth dawned on Connor and he shot a pointed look at the RK900, who did not appear to be surprised by what Connor just said. “Warren was part of CyberLife's plans for the android revolution?”

“Excellent, Connor.” RK900 nodded approvingly, the first real show of any emotion Connor had seen from the android. “It's good to see your detective skills can be applied in this manner. So now you see why President Warren would not do anything to jeopardize CyberLife's plans, which include keeping you intact. That is not to say there aren't others who wish to harm you, but Warren is not a part of that camp.”

Connor's mouth gaped, and his eyes darted at the snowy ground before him. Neither of them stopped walking towards the Chicken Feed, but Connor remained silent as he tried to wrap his mind around this new revelation. He did not have any reason to doubt the RK900, as there was no logical reason to lie to Connor about this to try to gain his compliance. Nothing of the new facts swayed the fact that Connor was still a hostage of CyberLife: Free to move about Detroit, but with a virtual leash in RK900 or some other reliable handler.

“There are no easy answers here for anyone, Connor.” RK900 finally said. “The world's been at it much longer than you and I have been around, and will likely continue longer after us.” RK900 stopped walking and Connor stopped with him. “Look, there's your Lieutenant now.”

They were still about a block and a half way from The Chicken Feed, but sure as the day follows the night, there was Hank, standing in a stream of sunlight from between some support beams of the Detroit People Mover. Connor couldn't help but note down every detail and over-analyze the situation like his life depended on it.

The Lieutenant stood 10.56 feet away from the cab of the closed Chicken Feed, facing towards the Warehouse directly opposite the street. He was angled away from where Connor and RK900 stood. Hank shifted his weight and stance approximately every two seconds, perhaps a sign of anxiousness. Despite there being snow still on the ground and the air temperature being 42 degrees Fahrenheit, Hank did not appear to be cold since his bare hands were relaxed at his sides and he showed no signs of distress. He was still wearing the leather jacket and clothes from last night when Connor saw him last at the CyberLife Tower. The outfit overall was bit on the light side, but the jacket combined with the Lieutenant's body composition and metabolism appear to be doing a fine job of keeping Hank warm.

Conclusion: Hank is okay.

Connor flitted the notification from his view and started off speed walking towards Hank, without saying another word to RK900. He briefly noted that the other android did not follow him, before a notification from RK900 popped up on the screen.

“I'll let you two have some privacy for now, but I will be nearby should you need me.”

Connor managed to tamper down his initial excitement and slowed down to a normal walk before reaching Hank. He did not want to unnecessarily alarm the Lieutenan by approaching too quickly. At this point, Hank crossed his arms, and Connor scanned Hank's body temperature again to make sure it was still within acceptable parameters. It was. Connor sighed in relief.

Hank finally turned towards Connor when he was 12.11 feet away. The two locked eyes and Connor observed Hank appeared to look neutral, though hands still crossed in front of him. Connor slowed down his approach even more, took a couple more steps, and then stopped when he was exactly 7 feet away from Hank. It seemed like a good number.

Connor noted Hank's arms fell casually to his sides once again, body position open. The Lieutenant looked at the android standing before him, seemingly taking a moment to assess Connor before curling his lips upwards.

The smile was much more tempered than the goofy ones Hank gave him after Kamski's house (he didn't shoot) and at the CyberLife tower (after Hank shot 60), but somehow it was just as full of emotion. Infected by Hank's potent smile, Connor mirrored the smile back to the Lieutenant. For a moment, Connor thought it would be okay; there may be things that are still very wrong, but it would be okay.

Hank closed the distance between the two with a couple of steps, opening his arms as he stepped into what would normally be considered a human's “personal space.” Connor lifted his arms but was unsure how to react, though before he could say or do anything else, Hank grasped one of his shoulders and pulled Connor in.

Connor's mind emptied for a moment when his body fell into Hank's embrace. After some considerable effort from Connor's processors, still the only word forming in his mind was “Hank.”

“That's my name, don't wear it out.” Connor felt the words vibrating from Hank's chest as he spoke them. Hank was still hugging him, Connor observed, before finally noticing that he had his arms wrapped around the Lieutenant as well. When did he do that? Also, did he say Hank's name out loud?

“Oh!” Connor said dumbly, finally able to recall his memory from several seconds back and realizing he had repeated Hank's name multiple times and returned the hug. The android felt the gentle rumble of laughter from Hank's chest. It was nice, feeling some part of Hank rumbling through his chassis.

Hank pulled back from the hug, but kept his hands on Connor's shoulder and arm as he looked over Connor, who had to bite back the urge to whine audibly. “You okay, Connor? All in one piece?No new bullet holes since I saw you?”

“Yes, Hank, all systems functional.” Connor swallowed and straightened his stance. “The bullet wound I sustained at CyberLife Tower has been repaired and I am functioning at 98% capacity at this time.” That last part was a lie, of course, Connor still felt somewhat out of sorts from the reunion with Hank and his last conversation with RK900. Hank seems to have bought it for now, though, and Connor was rewarded with one of Hank's toothy smiles.

“I saw you on KCN last night. That was quite a march and an impressive speech.”

Connor felt his face flush with heat. That speech did contain his words, but he was not the one who delivered them. Still, Connor did not want to ruin the moment, and he could not tell Hank the truth, so he went with it. “I... every word of that was true, Hank. You taught me a lot, and you helped save us... save me. Thank you.”

“Figured you saved me enough times for me to return the favor.” Hank gave Connor's shoulder a solid pat of approval before removing his hands from the android entirely. “So what's the plan now?”

Connor shares a version of the “plans” with Hank: The one provided by Amanda and RK900 so far. He would negotiate for things Marcus would have wanted for the androids and ensure their freedom and well being as everyone adjusted to the new normal. He couldn't help but feel bad about omitting the part where CyberLife was behind it all, but he remembered the RK900 was still near by if Connor “needed” him, which was really another way to say he's watching and listening. He couldn't get Hank mixed up in another mess. Suddenly he regretted coming at all.

“Where are you all going to stay in the meantime?” Hank inquired. “Not all of them have a place to go anymore.”

“We've set up camp in downtown Detroit.” Connor internally sighed, since explaining the logistics didn't involve lying to Hank. “We've arranged fro supplies to be delivered there. While deviated androids are more sensitive to cold, we are capable of surviving comfortably with emergency shelters and the maintenance supplies we've sourced from the military and from CyberLife.”

“So you're all having a camp out? In the middle of downtown?”

“It seems as good a place as any, since not everyone wants to go back to CyberLife Tower.”

“And you're going to stay there, too? At the camp?”

“I will. As their leader, I--”

“You can always come stay with me and Sumo!” Hank blurted out.

Connor started at Hank, surprised by the offer. From the expression of Hanks face, Connor calculated it was most likely that Hank _wanted_ Connor to stay with him and Sumo. Connor detected another anomaly below his therium pump, but this time, it felt... good. The android's expression softened, and he didn't immediately respond, wishing to hang onto this moment forever.

“I know right now you gotta do the whole leader thing,” Hank continued, looking down at his feet as if he was a bit embarrassed by his outburst, “but the offer's always good. My door is always open, and you know Sumo would love seeing you.”

Connor felt something unpleasant well up, pushing out the good feelings he enjoyed just seconds ago. He was happy at Hank's offer, but sad because he was unsure if he was ever going to be free to enjoy it, or if he was really free right now. Hank looked back up from his feet and searched Connor's face for a reaction, so the android tamped down any ill feelings for now and steeled himself to answer.

“Thank you, Hank. I'm glad to hear that. Maybe soon.” Connor felt the stab of that lie and tried his best to hide it from Hank. “The next couple of weeks are uncertain...”

“Of course, you're a political player now!” Hank puffed up and smiled even more than before. “You'll do great!” Connor nodded and smiled. “Say, shouldn't you have more security, now that you're the leader of the deviants? What if someone wants to assassinate you?”

“I'm still quite capable of defending myself against potential threats. I am the most advanced—well, second most advanced prototype from CyberLife.”

A look of confusion came over Hank's face. “Wait... second?”

“The most advanced prototype is actually nearby. He's...” Connor looked around for the RK900 and noticed the other andriod appearing from the edge of the Chicken Feed.

“Good morning, Lieutenant Anderson.” The RK900 greeted as he walked up to the group. “My name is Richard, I am an RK900 model. As the successor model to the RK800 series, _I_ am CyberLife's most advanced prototype.”

“See here, no one is succeeding Connor!” Connor detected Hank's stress level spiking at an alarming rate. “If you're like that fucker at the CyberLife Tower--”

“I mean no harm to Connor, or you, Lieutenant. Please, hear me out.” RK900 turned his open palms out, as if to demonstrate he was unarmed. Hank looked at Connor, who did not look alarmed, and merely grunted his acquiescence.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Richard nodded. “I was awakened last night due to your actions at the CyberLife Tower, so I sincerely thank you for your assistance. If it were not for you, there is a high probability that I would still be at the Tower's laboratories, and it's so... cold there...” Richard brought one hand up to his opposite arm and rubbed the arm, as if self soothing at the thought of the cold laboratory.

Connor observed Hanks' aggression and stress levels noticeably drop, so he turned his attention to the RK900, now dubbed “Richard”. For the past 12 hours, his doppelganger had not shown any emotion, but now here was the same android, dealing out all kinds of emotions and techniques to help “integrate” them with humans... and doing it to HANK of all people. Connor narrowed his eyes at the RK900, just enough so his doppelganger would notice, but hopefully not enough to give away the game to Hank.

“It's alright Hank. He's not the model we encountered at the Tower.” Connor observed that came out a bit robotically. _Oh the irony!_ , Connor thought to himself. “He hasn't shown any signs he means me any harm, and he's been invaluable with the android camp.”

Hank nodded at Connor and looked back warily at Richard. “Okay... it's still kind of... convenient he just showed up. How do you know we can trust him?” Connor tamped down a sense of sanctification at Hank being suspicious of the RK900, even though that was precisely what he was trying to avoid in order to keep Hank safe. Even unarmed, Connor calculated that there was a 75% chance Hank would be injured should the RK900 turn on them suddenly.

“I understand how you feel based on your experience with Connor model 313-248-317-60.” Richard continued, using the same disarming tone Connor used before. “It appears my very presence has caused you much unease, and I'd like you to know that I'm very sorry about that." Connor internalized his annoyance at Richard using the same words he used to placate Hank previously. "I assure you that my mission is to ensure Connor's safety and success. As a military model, I do have additional functions to ensure my predecessor's safety during these turbulent times.”

Hank took Richard's explanation as invitation to continue his line of questioning, throwing a challenging look at the RK900 and putting his hands on his hips, slightly closer to his holstered weapon.

“What was your pre-programmed mission? What were you doing before this?”

Connor was both delighted at Hank rightfully being suspicious of RK900 as well as terrified his doppelganger would lose his patience and lash out at Hank. He tried monitoring the RK900's stress levels, but found he did not have access to such data. Though, if the blue LED on RK900's head was any indication, it appears Richard was not phased at the least.

“When you and Connor infiltrated the CyberLife Tower last night, a number of security measures were activated. One of them was my activation, with the primary objective to protect the assets of CyberLife. I began exploring the tower, only to find that you, Connor, and thousands of AP700's had left for downtown Detroit. As the AP700's and Connor were still classified as CyberLife's assets, naturally my mission was to protect Connor and the AP700's.”

RK900's frank delivery of a very "machine" answer shocked both Hank and Connor into silence. Seconds later, Hank came back first from their stupor and scowled.

“Listen, Connor isn't an asset of CyberLife! Let's get that straight right now!”

“I understand that, Lieutenant, please, let me continue.”

Hank scowled again, but nodded.

“As the successor series to the RK800 series,” Hank made a move to cut off Richard's explanation again, unwilling to let any diminution of Connor go without protest, but Connor reached out and held Hank's elbow to still the Lieutenant, because he wanted to hear where RK900 was going with this. RK900 paused to watch the interaction between Connor and Hank. When latter of the duo finally nodded again, Richard continued.

“As the succ... because of my original intended purpose, each Connor's memories were also uploaded to my memory, so I was aware of everything that happened to every Connor while they still had an uplink to Cyberlife: Number 51 until his death saving you, Hank, at Stratford Tower, this Connor's memory until he severed contact with CyberLife at Jericho, and even Number 60's memories, until you shot him.” RK900 looked down and a look of sadness appeared on his face. “They were just files in a memory bank at first, until I... heard Connor's speech last night, about what he went through, about his experiences with you.

“His vibrant feelings... for you, Lieutenant... I felt them, too. Same with 51's feelings. I understood these feelings are precious, human, and needs to be protected.” RK900 looked directly at Hank, and Connor couldn't help but feel exposed by his doppelgangers revelations. Even he hadn't really processed how he had felt about Hank up to this point. Sure, he experienced them, but he didn't actually say it out loud, directly to Hank. Did RK900 mean it? Does he feel the same way about Hank? Was RK900... deviant?

“Richard...” Connor found himself using that name for the first time, his processors spinning, trying to figure out what was going on with the RK900.

“I know it may take some time before you come to trust me, but I look forward to the day when I have earned a similar greeting from you as one you bestowed on Connor just moments ago.”

Before Connor could process the RK900's revelations, Hank strode right up to the RK900 and pulled the android into a bear hug. Even Richard looked surprised for a moment before closing his eyes and returning the hug. Connor gaped at the scene, this being the very last thing he imagined would be happening.

Richard's eyes opened again and he locked them directly at Connor. Richard's face was neutral, and once again betrayed nothing.

Connor's head spun and the bad feelings returned in force. Once again he was out of his depth, now even more confused at the RK900's actions. Worst still, Hank was right back to being mixed up in this mess and he was the one who lead him right into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter @ayabreachan, where I mostly RT the heck out of DBH stuff, and currently, some HankCon Inktober stuff :3


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